A machine may be configured (e.g., by suitable software) to perform compression of one or more images. In image compression, an uncompressed image is processed (e.g., by the machine) to obtain the compressed image. This image processing may include application of one or more algorithms to the uncompressed image. As an example, one such algorithm for image compression is called “JPEG,” after the Joint Photographic Experts group which standardized the algorithm. As another example, Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a data format for storing images in files, and this format testifies that images be compressed using a compression algorithm called “Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW).”
One type of image is called a “texture map” or simply a “texture.” A texture map is an image that is applicable (e.g., mappable) to a surface of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object (e.g., an object that is represented in a virtual space by wireframe model that includes one or more polygons). As images, texture maps may be compressed using one or more image compression techniques to obtain compressed textures that are more easily stored in a database or more quickly communicated over a network.